Right before deployment I tend to struggle with how to spend time with my husband prior to him leaving. Especially if we weren’t given much time to prepare – like this next deployment that is coming up fast. I work full time and my husband’s schedule tends to get crazy preparing for their deployment so our time is limited.

This time I panicked a bit because there are things around the house we planned to do when the weather got a bit cooler. I had “to dos” racing through my mind before I even accepted the fact he was leaving. Wash the blinds… spray for bugs… weed… take the boat out of the marina… clean the pine needles from the gutters … and on and on.

I realize that some of these things I can do myself, ask friends for help or pay someone to do, but there is still required planning prior to a deployment you cannot avoid. So I struggle with spending time in the yard over the weekend or doing something fun. In the end, I know making memories is more important than clean gutters.

I’ve come to the conclusion – right or wrong – that we need to do both. I need to realize I will be left with “to dos”, and there will be more unexpected things I will have to deal with during deployment. He needs to understand how demanding it is to run a household alone and try and do what time allows before he leaves.

I hope we can achieve this delicate balance before he leaves. I never want to look back regretting that we didn’t spend enough quality time together.